Red Turnip opens season with PWD, sci-fi plays

MANILA, Philippines - “It’s been one hell of a journey,” declared actress-producer Cris Villonco about Red Turnip Theater, which has been around for just three years and is known for its cutting-edge straight plays (no musicals, please).

Cris spoke at a recent press launch (at 59-C Restaurant in Paseo de Roxas, Makati City) to announce the company’s fourth season. The other actor-producers of Red Turnip are Ana Abad Santos, Rem Zamora, Topper Fabregas and Jenny Jamora.

Cris on their three-year-old theater company: It’s been one hell of a journey

Two attention-calling plays are being presented for the 2016-2017 season: Tribes by Niña Raine, the story of Billy (played by Kalil Almonte), a young man with a disability, deafness; and The Nether, by Jennifer Maley, a science-fiction thriller.

Tribes is directed by Topper and also stars Angela Padilla, Cris Pasturan, Teroy Guzman, Dolly de Leon and Thea Yrastora. Ana directs The Nether, and those in the cast include TJ Trinidad and Jenny Jamora.

TJ Trinidad stars in the sci-fi play The Nether

The venue for both plays is the Power Mac Center Spotlight Theater in Circuit Makati (the former Sta. Ana Racetrack). Tribes runs until Sept. 4 (www.ticketworld.com.ph), while The Nether will be staged in March 2017.

In Tribes, the young man with a disability struggles to communicate, often unsuccessfully, with his family that has no patience with sign language. Premiered in London, the “play is going to be Pinoy,” said director Topper. “The material may have been published abroad but once it is interpreted by the actors and given voice by the artistic team, it becomes Filipino. We go a step further by using Filipino sign Language in scenes where sign is used.”

He added: “It is a comedy and a drama (but) more comedy than drama. Very witty, very sharp. Ensemble piece is loud, very energetic and then some. It’s also about how values are passed on from generation to generation.”

The Nether is a very different play. It is a crime drama, sci-fi thriller and, as director Ana pointed out, “still a love story.” In some future wonderland, a young detective stumbles upon “a disturbing brand of entertainment,” resulting in a battle between technology and human desire.

Ana shared: “It’s a very dark play and I just enjoyed the material. You don’t know who the people are, they are avatars. The play asks, is it okay to do crimes that are not legal in our world?”

For Jenny, who plays the detective, “the play is text-driven. Because of the budget, the spectacle is always the actors and their relationships.”

Asked to evaluate the “entertainment value” of the two plays, Rem said, “This is relative to the one who’s watching. You leave the theater, you think of or learn how to relate people. That’s our brand of entertainment.”